As Hemsley Charts UnitedHealth Turnaround, Experts Eye Transformation
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Jun 06, 2025
In his first shareholder meeting since returning to the helm of an embattled UnitedHealth Group, CEO Stephen Hemsley aimed to reassure shareholders that the diversified health care company can get its business back on track. But some industry experts suggest that UnitedHealth’s turnaround ought to involve reevaluating its philosophy in addition to shoring up its margins.
“UNH’s intense — and to date, very profitable — focus on ‘coding to the metric’ doesn’t bode well for a shift to a more patient-oriented culture,” says Joseph Paduda, principal of the consulting firm Health Strategy Associates. “Staff have long been evaluated based on quarterly earnings and other easily measured metrics (coding, pricing, enrollment); Helmsley’s desire to ‘help people experience more years of good health and less time navigating health care’ will cause whiplash in a giant organization ill-equipped to make patient experience a central value,” Paduda adds, referring to Hemsley’s remarks during UnitedHealth’s June 2 meeting with shareholders.
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